What can I plant now in Virginia?
Even though it's the beginning of June in coastal Virginia, it's not too late to get your veggie garden going for the season. All the summer favorites: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, beans, okra, squash, and zucchini can either be planted from seed (direct sow) or with plugs purchased from your favorite garden retailer.
Plant in containers: Cabbage, broccoli, kale, chard, favas, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, October: Plant in the ground: by now you can begin to set out some of your cabbage, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, chard and so on. Continue with seeds as above... you can also direct sow favas if you want.
Some vegetables prefer cooler weather and can be planted in early spring (such as peas, broccoli, cabbage, kale, spinach, lettuce, etc.). Others are warm weather vegetables and won't tolerate freezing temperatures (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons, zucchini, etc.).
As a general rule, cool season crops — collards, leeks, peas, radish, and spinach — can be planted when the soil reaches a temperature of 45-50ºF, while warm season crops — cucumbers, squash, corn, beans and melons — require a soil temperature above 65º F.
It is OK to start planting trees, shrubs, perennials and ground covers in early spring, as long as the soil conditions permit.
- Brassicas like broccoli, kale, cabbage and kohlrabi love frost. ...
- Carrots and parsnips also sweeten with frost. ...
- Lettuces and greens – chard and lettuces are tender, but with protection they will survive and thrive in a greenhouse, cold frame or even just draped with insulated garden fabric.
You may think it's too late to grow all your favorite vegetables from seeds, but warm May temperatures have made the soil perfect for sowing seeds. Warm soil will allow for fast germination and growing plants! Good choices are summertime kitchen garden staples like squash, beans, cucumbers and melons.
While it may seem counterintuitive to plant while summer crops are winding down, the warm soils and cooler temperatures will give plants a jump start on growth for the fall season. Plant now and you'll have beets, Brussel sprouts, carrots, lettuces, rainbow chard and more ready to harvest by Thanksgiving.
The last average frost date on the coastal plain of Virginia is around the middle of April. Early crops, including asparagus, collards, onions, peas, radishes, spinach and turnips may be planted in mid-February. Most will be ready to start harvesting from mid-April through May.
The Virginia growing zones range from 5a to 8a. Growing and hardiness zones are also known as planting zones, and they help gardeners know which plants, vegetables and flowers are best-suited to thrive in an area. Knowing your zone means knowing which plants can survive winter.
Is it too early to plant flowers in Virginia?
As far as when to plant flowers in Virginia, perennials can potentially be planted in spring or fall. In the early spring (even before the threat of frost has completely gone away), many bare root perennials (those that are dormant and therefore not actively growing) can be planted.
Be sure to time your seed starting by sowing seeds five to seven weeks before the last average frost date. In Central Virginia, the average last frost date for plant hardiness zone 7a is April 15 to 25. This makes March a good time to start those tomato seeds growing in the local area.
Outdoors, cucumbers should be sown or transplanted into the ground no earlier than 2 weeks after the last frost date. Cucumbers are extremely susceptible to frost and cold damage; the soil should be at least 70ºF (21ºC) for germination. Seedlings set best at that temperature, too.
The most critical date to keep in mind is the last average frost date in your area. In our area in central Virginia, it is May 10th – 15th. For most crops, that date is used in calculating your indoor seed-starting date.
Plant Annual Flowers in March Gardens
By the end March, gardeners in frost-free regions can begin planting warm-season annuals such as angelonia, wax begonia, and zinnia. Northern gardeners can start setting out cool-season favorites such as pansy, osteospermum, and alyssum.
- Chaenomeles. Deep-coral-pink Japanese quince flowers.
- Camellia. Pink camellia blooms.
- Forsythia. Brilliant yellow forsythia with contrasting bluebells beneath.
- Viburnum tinus. White viburnum flowers.
- Golden currant.
Winter vegetables need a solid start before winter arrives, because once cold, dark days settle in, plants won't grow gangbusters, like they do in the summer months. The general rule of thumb for planting a winter vegetable garden in Zones 7 to 10 is to plant during October.
- Apples, August through February (cold storage until spring)
- Arugula, available year-round, but best in spring and fall when its peppery flavor is at its best but not overly pungent, which can happen in the heat.
- Asparagus, spring—look for firm spears, whether thick or thin.
In fact, according to Peggy Krapf, a certified landscaping designer in Virginia, the right perennials will thrive throughout the season. She recommends planting mums, pansies, violas, black-eyed Susans, and Mexican sage. Trees and Shrubs: According to the Daily Press, fall is the best time to plant trees and shrubs.
- Lettuce. You may have noticed the price of lettuce has risen considerably in the past two years. ...
- Bell Peppers. ...
- Garlic. ...
- Winter Squash. ...
- Tomatoes. ...
- Broccoli.
What do you plant in February?
Plant Cool-Weather Crops
If you live in the South or Far West, you can plant cool weather vegetables such as spinach, peas, greens, onions, potatoes, lettuce, Swiss chard, beets, carrots, and radishes in your February garden.
In late February to early March, start cabbages, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, leeks, endive, escarole, fennel, lettuce, and artichokes indoors. In mid- to late March, direct sow peas, spinach, fava beans, and arugula outdoors. Start peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, Swiss chard, and tomatillos indoors.
- Snap Peas. Snap peas are a quick-growing early crop. ...
- Sunflowers. These sunny flowers are a must for a child's garden. ...
- Radishes. Radishes are super fast growers. ...
- Marigolds. These hardy little flowers can take rough handling and still keep going. ...
- Cherry Tomatoes. ...
- Pumpkins. ...
- Carrots. ...
- Potatoes.
Sow now. Veg: including aubergines, chillies and tomatoes, plus courgettes, squashes, pumpkins, marrows and leeks under cover. Beetroot, carrot, celeriac, peas, radish, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, broad beans, spring onions, second early and maincrop seed potatoes.
You can safely plant tomatoes in the garden between the last frost of spring and this date. For instance, I live in USDA Hardiness Zone 4b with an average first frost date of September 25th and last frost around May 21st.
Potatoes can be planted between March and May, ready for harvest between June and October. Potatoes are a cool-weather crop. They aren't able to grow in freezing weather so you're better off waiting until at least march.
Lettuce is a cool weather crop and is best grown in spring and fall. The seeds germinate in temperatures as low as 40 F (4 C) but its ideal germination and growing temperature is between 60 and 65 F (16 to 18 C).
When to Plant Garlic. Garlic is most often planted in the fall (between late September and November) and harvested in the following summer (between June and August). In areas that get a hard frost, plant garlic cloves 6 to 8 weeks before the first fall frost date, before the ground freezes.
Potatoes grow best in full sun with well-drained soil high in organic matter with a pH of 6.0 to 6.5. In Virginia, plant early potatoes between March 15 and April 20. Potatoes grow rapidly in cool spring weather.
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What zone is Southern Virginia?
Most of Virginia and Maryland are in the cooler side of Zone 7, with a low temperature range of zero to 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
USDA Zone 7
The zone includes Long Island, coastal New Jersey, eastern Maryland, most of Virginia and North Carolina, western South Carolina, southern Tennessee, the northern halves of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi and much of Arkansas.
Perfect plants for three-season color, pansies are best planted in October when the weather is cool but the sun and soil still are warm enough to promote root growth and flower development.
The best time to plant any plant is during the dormant season – in North America, this is usually late fall through early spring. While it's okay to plant during the rest of the year, it will require more maintenance from you in the form of watering, fertilizers, etc.
According to Witz, late summer or early fall is the perfect time for “tilling the ground and adding organic matter, like compost or manure, to improve soil structure and nutrient levels,” because “the cold winter months provide ample time for the organic matter to break down and mingle with the dirt.”
Tomato plants love the sun, so you'll get the best results by growing them somewhere with as much direct sunlight as possible. While tomato plants can survive on 6 hours of direct sun per day, they'll be happiest with 7–8 hours.
Tomato plants perform best in soil that is loose, rich, and drains well, which means they translate easily to container gardens—especially more compact determinate tomatoes, or bush varieties. Indeterminate tomato varieties that grow larger have more extensive root systems and do better planted directly in the ground.
- Basil. Basil and tomatoes are soulmates on and off the plate. ...
- Parsley. ...
- Garlic. ...
- Borage and squash. ...
- French marigolds and nasturtiums. ...
- Asparagus. ...
- Chives.
Cucumbers' and Tomatoes' Shared Diseases
When growing these two crops together, you must consider the potential for disease. While cucumber mosaic virus does affect both tomatoes and cucumbers, the disease is not limited to these two crops — it affects more than 40 families of plants.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes and cucumbers grow well together, especially in the greenhouse, so they are ideal companion plants. They do well in similar soil conditions and take around the same to grow and be ready for harvest.
Is April too early to plant cucumbers?
If your region enjoys a long growing season and a mild climate, you can begin planting cucumber seeds in April or June. Those who live in warmer areas can plant them as early as February or March all the way through to July.
Bargil sees restrictions on home gardening as a violation of a fundamental right: “We have the right to use our own properties to grow our own food, as long as that use doesn't impinge on someone else's freedom to enjoy their property.” And he feels that landscape ordinances smack of authoritarianism.
Early Spring
To successfully plant cool-weather vegetables in Virginia, sow earlier and later in the year, depending on the area of the state. Sow seeds or transplant hardy annuals, such as sweet peas, larkspur and pot marigolds, in late winter or early spring for bloom in late spring.
Carrot seeds can be sown about 2 to 3 weeks before the last spring frost date. Find your local frost dates here. Ideally, you want the soil to have both dried out and warmed up a little after the winter. Seeds germinate after the soil temperature is at least 40° and germinate best at 55-65°, not exceeding 75°F.
The last average frost date on the coastal plain of Virginia is around the middle of April. Early crops, including asparagus, collards, onions, peas, radishes, spinach and turnips may be planted in mid-February. Most will be ready to start harvesting from mid-April through May.
In the early spring (even before the threat of frost has completely gone away), many bare root perennials (those that are dormant and therefore not actively growing) can be planted. But fall, when the weather begins to cool but the soil is still warm, is actually a really great time for planting.
The Virginia growing zones range from 5a to 8a. Growing and hardiness zones are also known as planting zones, and they help gardeners know which plants, vegetables and flowers are best-suited to thrive in an area. Knowing your zone means knowing which plants can survive winter.
The most critical date to keep in mind is the last average frost date in your area. In our area in central Virginia, it is May 10th – 15th. For most crops, that date is used in calculating your indoor seed-starting date.
As such, in Virginia, the best time to set tomato transplants – plant them out – is early on in the spring. This way the plants will produce fruit – hopefully, a lot of it – before the summertime heat soars. All the same, tomato plants are, likewise, sensitive to frost.
Crop | Based on Frost Dates Based on Moon Dates | |
---|---|---|
Start Seeds Indoors | Start Seeds Outdoors | |
Dill | N/A | Apr 9-May 14 Apr 9-16, Apr 30-May 14 |
Eggplants | Feb 11-25 Feb 11-16 | N/A |
Green Beans | N/A | Apr 16-May 7 Apr 16, May 1- 7 |
When should cucumbers be planted?
Outdoors, cucumbers should be sown or transplanted into the ground no earlier than 2 weeks after the last frost date. Cucumbers are extremely susceptible to frost and cold damage; the soil should be at least 70ºF (21ºC) for germination. Seedlings set best at that temperature, too.
Lettuce is a cool weather crop and is best grown in spring and fall. The seeds germinate in temperatures as low as 40 F (4 C) but its ideal germination and growing temperature is between 60 and 65 F (16 to 18 C).
When to Plant Garlic. Garlic is most often planted in the fall (between late September and November) and harvested in the following summer (between June and August). In areas that get a hard frost, plant garlic cloves 6 to 8 weeks before the first fall frost date, before the ground freezes.
Potatoes grow best in full sun with well-drained soil high in organic matter with a pH of 6.0 to 6.5. In Virginia, plant early potatoes between March 15 and April 20. Potatoes grow rapidly in cool spring weather.